Wonder Woman, one of the year's biggest hits, has just passed the worldwide box office total for last year's Deadpool. Beginning back in 2013 with Man of Steel, the DC Extended Universe has always done well commercially, frequently overcoming mixed reviews from critics and audiences. However, with Wonder Woman, they reached a new level. Patty Jenkins' acclaimed origin story is easily the best-received entry in the series thus far, and the positive buzz has given it a nice boost commercially. The film recently became the highest-grossing movie of summer 2017, beating Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Domestically, Diana Prince has brought in $395.2 million as of this writing.
Driven by a strong turnout from older and female moviegoers, Wonder Woman has had some of the best box office legs the superhero genre has seen, and has spent the past two months working its way up the all-time charts for the genre. In mid-July, Wonder Woman topped the U.S. total of Deadpool ($363 million), prompting Ryan Reynolds to congratulate Jenkins and crew on a job well done. The Merc With a Mouth is going to have to send the Wonder Woman team another message soon, as the DC blockbuster has now surpassed Deadpool worldwide.
According to Forbes, Wonder Woman has now brought in $786 million globally, which narrowly edges out Deadpool's whopping $783.1 million (the record for biggest R-rated film ever). And though business is starting to slow down for Wonder Woman, its milestones may not end there. It has a realistic chance of reaching the $400 million plateau in the States and could become the most successful superhero origin/non-sequel of all-time (besting 2002's Spider-Man). The film's bevy of box office accomplishments is a clear illustration of the power of word-of-mouth. This summer saw many hopeful tentpoles disappoint due to negative reviews, but Wonder Woman was one of the few bright spots and dominated throughout June.
It's no surprise that Warner Bros. is fast tracking a sequel, which recently secured a December 2019 release date. The script is currently being worked on, though plot details are being kept under wraps for now. Word is the film will be set in the 1980s during the Cold War and feature the return of Chris Pine, but nothing official has been revealed at this point. While there are many questions about the DCEU's future due to the variety of projects they have in various stages of development, the studio is making Diana an integral part of the property moving forward, which certainly seems like a safe bet.
Fans will be curious to see if the box office has any impact at all on Wonder Woman's awards prospects. WB is said to be putting together a huge campaign in an effort to receive Best Picture and Best Director nominations, which no superhero movie has earned so far. In keeping with the Deadpool comparison, it wouldn't be a shock to see Wonder Woman crack the Producers Guild Best Picture list, which frequently finds a spot or two for a blockbuster phenomenon. Regardless of how many accolades Wonder Woman receives, it will go down as one of the most memorable movies of 2017, hopefully representing a new era for the DCEU.
MORE: Hayley Atwell Calls Wonder Woman 'A Triumph'
Source: Forbes
